The Antarctic Sun, November 12, 2000

ww w. p o l a r. o rg / a n t s u n The November 12, 2000

PublishedA duringn the australt a summerr atctic McMurdo Station, Antarctica,Sun for the United States Antarctic Program

quote of the week Tug of SAR “This is my kingdom, you are my slaves!” - lone hiker on Observation Hill, overlooking McMurdo Station.

I N S I D E South ‘Poll’ picks a winner page 3

Skate under thick ice page 5 Twin Otter odyssey page 6

Name that Justin Reese, Joe Harrigan and M.K. Fortune test a snow anchor during tryouts for the secondary search-and-rescue team. The so-called “dead man” device is buried in the snow to secure a crevasse nu n a t a k rescue line. Twenty-eight people tried out for the team, which has 12 spots. Photo by Tobias Schunck. page 10 A timeless machine returns

By Josh Landis Sun staff n the next few weeks, don’t be The Basler BT-67 Isurprised if you look up in the sky and see what looks like a vintage plane flying overhead. The shape of the twin- engine, low wing aircraft you see may date back to the 1930s, but the BT-67 represents the newest addition to the U.S. Antarctic Program’s air fleet. See DC-3 on page 4 2 • The Antarctic Sun November 12, 2000 Wasting away in An t a r c t i c a By Josh Landis Sun staff What happens to our trash There’s a paradox of human habitation • 3.9 million pounds of waste went north from McMurdo Station at the in Antarctica: The continent that has the end of the 1999-2000 season most brutal and forbidding environment • Largest shares: wood (651,000 pounds) and construction debris on the planet also has one of the most (650,000 pounds) fragile ecosystems. A footstep will remain • Food waste made up 494,000 pounds visible in the Dry Valleys for decades. A • That averages out to more than 400 pounds per person (population seal population can be thrown off-kilter 1,200) by the introduction of a simple, yet for- • 58 percent of all waste was recycled or reused eign, microorganism. And the refuse of a human population that’s very small by U.S. standards can come next. under federal regulations that would cover mar this beautiful land for centuries. The National Science Foundation’s such a facility in the U.S., the foundation The evolution of waste management on commitment to recycle materials such as didn’t prepare an environmental impact Ross Island has gone from no concern for solvents, paper and aluminum sometimes statement for the project. After losing a the environment in the early days of the costs more than regular disposal. court battle with environmental groups, explorers to U.S. Antarctic Program stan- “They’re commodities, and the price the NSF decided to abandon the incinera- dards that are approaching zero-impact. we get depends on what the market’s pay- tor approach and ship the waste home. Days of open-pit burning and open-water ing,” Vinson said. “It’s more of an envi- It was an event that probably increased dumping are long gone. They’ve been ronmental decision.” the program’s recycling rate. Now waste replaced by a system that returns nearly Te c h n i c a l l y, recycling doesn’t occur such as paper and cardboard that might four million pounds of waste to the States here, but the sorting ensures that once the have been burned gets turned into post- each year. refuse returns to the States the process is consumer products. And much of it gets recycled. easily handled. As the largest presence on the conti- Wednesday is America Recycles Day, Some methods of reusing waste, how- nent, the U.S.’s evolving approach to but for Tom Vinson, manager of waste ever, do take place at a local level. For waste is becoming a standard for other operations, it will be business as usual. example, furnaces that burn waste oil and programs. “Antarctica recycles every day,” he fuel to create heat account for the dispos- “Other nations are starting to look to us said. “It’s the best option we have.” al of almost a third of the hazardous waste for guidance with their plans,” said Recycling starts at the garbage cans, as stream – 341,000 pounds last season. The Vinson. anyone who’s been to McMurdo knows. furnaces also conserve new fuel that The simplest Antarctic recycling Categories range from burnables to bio- would otherwise have to be used for the method can’t be beat. It’s the “skua” sys- waste, clothing to construction debris. same purpose. tem. No transport, processing, manufac- There are 19 different varieties of solid Not all burning efforts have been suc- turing or distribution is involved. waste here, and 18 categories of haz- cessful. Everything from clothing to chairs to tele- ardous waste. In the early 1990s the NSF built a visions to teapots can be reused without The most-recycled item by weight is multi-million dollar incinerator to dispose having to go anywhere. heavy metal, adding up to 341,000 pounds of some of its solid waste at McMurdo And the only hazard involved is look- last year. Light metal and paper products Station. Believing Antarctica did not fall ing out-of-style. ■

REA D Y FO R Discovery in the snow Scott’s Discovery hut TH E HO L I D AY S ? was besieged by snow earlier this week. Shop at According to Art Cayette of Mac Weather, more the Store. than 20 inches fell in the area between Monday and Friday. The heaviest • snowfall recorded in a Hats, clothing, single month was 28 inches in October 1971. souvenirs Photo by Jeff Inglis. and more! November 12, 2000 The Antarctic Sun • 3 South Pole poll: Nader for president By Tracy Sheeley Sun contributor While the U.S. populace waits for the final results of the 2000 presi- How the candidates ranked dential election, summer residents of the South Pole have already picked their winner. 35 Victory goes to the Green Party. 32 In the mock poll, Ralph Nader led all other nominees with 32 votes, 30 30 squeaking out a narrow victory over democrat Al Gore, who received 30 votes. Other major party candidates fared considerably worse. Seven 25 Polies voted for republican George W. Bush, and reform party candidate 20 Pat Buchanan received zero votes. 20 Ge o r ge Bush narrowly beat out Michael Gomez, a South Pole win- 15 te r -over pipe fitter. Gomez was the preferred write-in candidate with 6 votes, and the local winner. 10 Un f o r t u n a t e l y , Gomez left Pole on Nov. 9 for greener pastures, so there was no time to arrange a lift from Air Force One. 5 7 6 The write-in campaign was a lively one, with the vast majority of 4 nominations receiving just one vote. Being alive was not a prerequisite, as ballots for candidates ranging from Ralph Waldo Emerson to Bill the Na d e r Go r e Bu s h Go m e z Harry Ot h e r s Cat were submitted. Anti-government sentiment was detected in one (w r i t e - i n ) Browne (w r i t e - i n s ) ballot which read, “They’re all crooks!” (L i b e r t a r i a n ) Ninety-nine eligible voters participated in the South Pole election, which translated to a 50 percent turnout. Things are settling down once If Polies were in charge, Ralph Nader would be our next more at Amundsen-Scott Station, and the ballot box has returned to its president. Ninety-nine people – about half the station’s res - original role - a materials inbox. ■ idents – submitted ballots in a mock poll.

the week in weather CORRECTION Last week the photo that accompanied the article, “The skua: A bird for the ages,” was around A n t a r c t i c a incorrectly credited to Walter Clark. Irma Hale took the picture. McMurdo Station Palmer Station (last week) South Pole Station High: 32F/0C High: 42F/6C High: -33F/-28C Low: -10F/-18C Low: 13F/-11C Low: -45F/-47C Windchill: -36F/-38C Wind: 53 mph/85 kph Avg. temp: -39F/-39C BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND Wind: 56 mph/91 kph Wind: 37 mph/60 kph

TUE S . - SAT. 6 TO 10 A.M. AT TH E LAT E S T around the world Saturday’s numbers (depending on business)

Cape Town, South Af r i c a Pleasantville, N.Y. High: 71F/22C High: 54F/12C The Antarctic Sun, part of the United States Low: 56F/13C Low: 42F/6C Antarctic Program, is funded by the National Perth, Au s t r a l i a Natchez, Miss. Science Foundation. High: 81F/27C High: 66F/19C Low: 49F/9C Opinions and conclusions Low: 57F/14C Baku, Az e r b a i j a n Nome, Al a s k a expressed in the Sun are not High: 58F/14C High: 34F/1C necessarily those of the Foundation. Low: 46F/8C Low: 25F/-4C Us e : Reproduction and distribution are encouraged with acknowledgment of source and author. Pu b l i s h e r : Valerie Carroll, Communications manager, Raytheon Polar Se r v i c e s Voice your opinion on national and global issues Senior Editor: Josh Landis • www.planetproject.com Editors: Beth Minneci Make your thoughts known on many topics. Actual polling Nov. 15-18, 2000. Je f f Inglis • www.o p i n i o n c e n t e r. c o m Contributions are welcome. Contact the Express your opinion on myriad subjects. Sun at An t S u n @ p o l a r .org. In McMurdo, visit • www.kcweb.com/vote/votemain.htm our office in Building 155 or dial 2407. Voice of the Internet. Aggregate opinion-poll results are sent to lawmakers Web address: ww w. p o l a r. o r g / a n t s u n and media organizations on a regular basis. 4 • The Antarctic Sun November 12, 2000 DC-3

DC-3: 1930S AN D 20 0 0 Win g s p a n Th e n : 95 ft No w : 8 inches longer from page 1 Le n g t h The Basler Turbo Conversions airplane is a Th e n : 64 ft 5 in modernized version of the Douglas DC-3, one of the most popular airframes in history. It’s No w : 40 inches longer also a close relative of the types of planes that He i g h t helped build the foundation of today’s U.S. Antarctic Program. Th e n : 16 ft 4 in The National Science Foundation plans to No w : Slightly taller contract the plane for a month of service this season. It’s currently delayed in Punta Ar e n a s , because of length extension Chile, but could arrive within days. Max takeoff weight The R4D-5 “Charlene” sits with The Basler would fill a niche with mission Th e n : 26,900 lbs engines running on the Liv requirements that fall between the LC-130 Gl a c i e r . Eddie Frankiewicz and transports and the smaller Twin Otters. Th e No w : 28,750 lbs Jim Waldron spent hours waiting plane can land on short, rough surfaces that Max useful payload there, prepared to help Gus Shinn might be too risky for the 130s, while still if he ran into any trouble on his hauling more cargo than the Otters. (includes fuel) historic flight to the Pole. Photo courtesy of Jim Wal d r o n . The BT-6 7 ’ s frame was built in 1944, but Th e n : 9,085 pounds i t ’s been modernized by Basler Tu r b o Conversions to meet current aviation require- No w : 13,000 pounds Cruise speed at 10,000 feet Th e n : 155 knots / 178 mph “The beauty of the DC-3 has always No w : 210 knots / 242 mph been its rugged reliability.” Interior cabin volume - Tom Weigt, (excluding cockpit) president of aircraft Th e n : 905 cubic feet manufacturing company No w : 1225 cubic feet Ra n g e Th e n : 1,025 miles ments. The Wisconsin company extended the fuselage, lengthened the wingspan, replaced No w : 2,140 miles the cylinder engines with turboprops, installed En g i n e s state-of-the-art navigational equipment (including two GPS systems) and made extra Th e n : Two nine-cylinder, room inside for a larger payload. radial air-cooled engines, As far as aircraft design goes, the DC-3 is one of the most popular planes ever made. providing 1,200 hp each Since its debut in the 1930s it’s been modified No w : Two Pratt & Whitey and transformed into dozens of different incar- turboprops, delivering nations. It has flown on all seven continents and is still relied upon by operations ranging 1,424 max hp each from the Bolivian military to the Royal Th a i Co s t Air Force to smoke jumpers in the States and all kinds of deep-field workers around the Th e n : $138,000 wo r l d . No w : $4.5 million see DC-3 on page 9 November 12, 2000 The Antarctic Sun • 5 Ice Skate A ra y ’ s rare appearance By Teri McLain Special to the Sun n Greenlandic legend the skate is the sister of the shark. She was created as a companion for her brother by the I Mother of the Sea, who saw that the shark was lazy and thought he might be bored. When Kim Praebel, fisherman and researcher here on the Ice, pulled up his long line at Fish Hut Three last week he found a large skate among the fish he caught. He thought nothing of it. “Asister of the shark,” he said to himself. He catches them in Greenland all the time. Not realizing that he was looking at the first specimen ever caught in McMurdo Sound, Kim put the skate aside and returned to the task at hand. Nine colossal ma w s o n i i fish were also caught on the long line, and needed to be taken to the aquarium before they died. In Antarctic waters, skates are abundant in both the Atlantic and Indian oceans. Only a

There is a small possibility that it is a previously undescribed species.

handful of records indicate their presence in the Ross Sea, and no one has ever reported taking one in McMurdo Sound. Skates belong to a large group of boneless fishes known as elasmobranches, which includes both sharks and rays. They comprise just one family in the order Batoidei, which means all skates are rays, but not all rays are skates. Found from the Arctic to the An t a r c t i c , their habitat ranges from shallow coastal Above: Art DeVries draws a blood regions to depths exceeding 9,800 feet (3,000 sample from the skate’s tail. me t e r s ) . Because there were no antifreeze Late in the evening when all the fish were proteins present, he determined circling in the tanks, Art DeVries, principal the animal stays alive in sub-freez- investigator of the fish antifreeze project and a ing water by chemically lowering 39-year veteran of the McMurdo fishing the freezing point of its blood. scene, stood looking down at the skate. Photo by Teri McLain. “Hmmmph,” he mused. “I wonder why I’ve never caught a skate.” Left: The first skate caught in The answer may lie in the old fishing McMurdo Sound swims in a tank in the old aquarium. Photo by Josh proverb: It’s not how deep you fish, it’s how Landis. see Skate on page 11 6 • The Antarctic Sun November 12, 2000 long jo urn ey A for three little planes

By Jeff Inglis Sun staff ine people and three small planes recently arrived at N McMurdo Station after a journey of over 11,000 miles (17,700 km) from Canada to spend four months flying in the Antarctic. Each year, three de Havilland Twin Otter airplanes owned and operated by Kenn Borek Air travel from the company’s base in Calgary, Alberta, through North and South America and across Antarctica to support the U.S. and Italian programs on the Ice. This year the planes left Calgary on Oct. 23 and flew to Boise, Idaho, where two were inspected before continuing on to Houston, Texas, where they spent the night before flying to Grand Cayman Two Kenn Borek Air Twin Otters fly over the southern Andes Mountains north of Puerto Island for the second night of the jour- Montt, Chile. Photo courtesy of Sean Loutitt. ne y . The trip affords them a luxury they do n ’ t have in An t a r c t i c a . “Every night we go out for dinner and relax,” said Kenn Borek’s chief Puerto Montt. calls for the planes to refuel at Patriot Antarctic pilot Sean Loutitt. This year the pilots were in a bit of a Hills before continuing to the South Leaving Grand Cayman, they flew hurry to make it to McMurdo as soon as pos- Pole. This year, though, two of the three the three planes over Panama and on sible to start work. They continued to Punta went directly to the Pole, while one past the Equator to Guayaquil, Ecuador. Arenas, an extra 800 miles (1,200 km). stopped at Patriot Hills to refuel and Though government procedures in In Punta Arenas, they changed into check the fuel cache the U.S. Antarctic that area of the world can be difficult to their cold-weather clothes. They learned Program maintains there. deal with, three similarly-painted planes the weather was bad at Rothera, the All three made it to the Pole that day, get friendly attention. British Antarctic Survey base on Nov. 1, but then the weather came in. “They’re pretty smooth for us,” Adelaide Island, their next stop. “The next morning we woke up and Loutitt said, though he noted that After a day’s layover, strong head- couldn’t even see the airplanes,” Loutitt Ecuadorian officials inspect the planes winds made what is normally a six-hour said. carefully with drug dogs. flight take eight hours. The winds, Two days later the fliers were able to After a night in Ecuador, they leave Loutitt said, included a 50 mph (80 kph) make it to McMurdo to begin the sea- the next morning for Arica, Chile, just direct headwind, and crosswind gusts of son’s work, which will include flying over the border from Peru. over 80 mph (129 kph). over 100 hours per month, supporting “We don’t land in Peru,” Loutitt said. The gravel runway at Rothera is nor- deep-field camps and aerial surveying “It’s hard to get landing permits.” mally covered with snow in October, but projects. One plane continued north to But they do just fine in Chile, with this year it was not. Instead of just the Italian station at Terra Nova Bay. help from a few locals, including an air changing landing gear from wheels to At the end of the season, the planes traffic controller who assists with paper- skis on the snow-covered gravel runway, will fly back to Canada again to work work. they had to shuttle planes one by one to during the boreal summer before com- “We seem to have built a good net- a glacier runway for the conversion. ing back down again next year. work of friends in Chile,” Loutitt said. “Nine of us were working on this for “It’s a trek,” Loutitt said. “It’s actual- After a night in Arica, they normally 12 hours,” Loutitt said. ly kind of fun.” ■ fly halfway down the length of Chile to After Rothera, the usual flight path November 12, 2000 The Antarctic Sun • 7 He a d s in the clouds team of scientists and engineers has conducted ozone research at McMurdo Station Ozone holes A since the late 1980s. Our work relies upon a sophisticated array will disappear if nations sp e a k i n g of instruments that is carried aloft by comply with balloons to measure ozone and of nacreous clouds. proposed bans of science... After repeated attempts beginning chlorofluorocarbons. at Winfly this season, we successfully flew a balloon into the Antarctic “ozone ho l e . ” - Mark Hervig, It was starting to get embarrassing. We just atmospheric researcher kept missing the hole with our balloons, which is about like missing the broad side of a barn with a shotgun. The successful measurements, however, have provided a wealth of information con- cerning the processes that affect polar ozone loss, and how the seasonal ozone holes are changing over time. We now know that ozone loss is a direct result of man-made chlorine in the atmosphere, and that ozone holes will disappear if the nations of Earth will comply with proposed bans of chlorofluorocarbons, the primary compounds responsible for chlorine buildup in the upper atmosphere. In hitting the hole with a balloon, the really tough thing was lining it up right, and getting everybody to let go at the same time. It sounds like a bad movie, but I just could- n’ t get everyone to “go on three.” Someone would always say something like, “did you mean go on three, or one-two-three, then go?” The team is now considering a more sophisticated system involving GPS-based guidance coupled with real-time satellite imag- ing of ozone hole location and movement. A team of scientists I don’t know how I feel about this, buying and engineers into sophisticated military technology to con- launch a balloon duct our decidedly peaceful research, it kind loaded of feels like a sell-out, but we want to stand with instruments that back after every balloon launch and say “it’s measure ozone. in the hole.” Photos courtesy of While important in its own right, the Terry Deshler. understanding of polar ozone loss has also provided valuable insight into ozone loss that occurs on a global scale, which directly affe c t s the populated regions of Earth as well as pen- guins and people of Antarctica. ■ Speaking of Science is a column in which scientists describe their work in Antarctica. Mark Hervig is a research scientist at the University of Wyoming’s department of atmospheric science. 8 • The Antarctic Sun November 12, 2000

Answers to last week’s crossword OUR AN T ARCTIC WEEK Across Sunday Nov. 12 1. Home base of 109th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron - SCOTIA 4. South Pole’s MAPO: Martin A. __ Observatory - POMERANTZ • Veterans Day Ceremony, 2 5. The leader of the first expedition to reach the South Geographic Pole - AMUND- p.m., galley. Everyone is invited, SEN 6. Captain of the Erebus - ROSS uniform optional. 8. New England sailing captain after whom a U.S. research vessel is named - • Science lecture: “Science On PALMER 12. Small lake in Barwick Valley - VASHKA the Move: U.S. Contribution to 15. Shackleton’s last pony on his trek to reach the furthest south - SOCKS the International Trans Antarctic 17. Great Lake closest in size to Lake Vostok - ONTARIO 18. Wife of Sir Clements Markham, as in __ Bluff - MINNA Scientific Expedition,” by Paul 21. Oft-used mode of transport for early Antarctic explorers - SKIS Mayewski, 8:15 p.m., galley 24. Captain of the first ship to cross the Antarctic Circle - COOK 25. Wind __ Hill, above Cape Evans - VANE Monday Nov. 13 26. Cape __, site of smallest hut on Ross Island - ROYDS • Slide show: “High with Thai,” 27. The ship which first brought Scott to the Antarctic - DISCOVERY Down traversing Denali and climbing in 1. This enduring leader is buried on South Georgia Island - SHACKLETON Nepal, 8 p.m., galley 2. Number of Air National Guard LC-130H aircraft in use this season (as of last week) - FOUR Tuesday Nov. 14 3. Island on which Palmer Station sits - ANVERS • Trivia night at Scott Base, 7:30 7. Man who was “going out and may be some time” - OATES 9. He crossed most of George V Land alone, after the deaths of two companions - p.m. Sign up with Recreation. MAWSON Thursday Nov. 16 10. The leader of the first expedition to the South Magnetic Pole - DAVID 11. Coldest place on Earth - VOSTOK • Movie night, “Truman Show,” 8 12. Highest mountain in Antarctica - VINSON p.m., Coffee House. Free pop - 13. Shape of the Sun’s path around the South Pole - CIRCLE 14. With 5-Across, the man after whom South Pole Station is named - SCOTT corn. 16. This year’s icebreaker - POLAR SEA Saturday Nov. 18 19. Adm. Byrd’s dog - IGLOO • Chaplain’s movie night, movie 20. Author of The Worst Journey in the World: Apsley Cherry-__ - GARRARD 22. Common gulls in the Ross Sea region - SKUAS to be announced, 8 p.m., galley. 23. Two of Scott’s party members bore this last name - EVANS November 12, 2000 The Antarctic Sun • 9

DC-3 from page 4 “The beauty of the DC-3 has always America the planes would be left to win- been its rugged reliability,” said Tom Wei g t , ter on their own. Upon returning, the air- president of Basler Turbo Conversions. crew would dig the machines out of the “Overall it is unmatched by anything in the sn o w , fire them up and fly away. market today.” Nicknamed the “Gooney Bird,” the It ’ s unmatched in Antarctic history, last Navy R4D was taken out of service in to o . the mid-1970s. On Oct. 31, 1956, Lt. Cdr. Gus Shinn The Basler version of the plane will be landed the first plane at the South Pole. It new to the U.S. program, but it has been was a ski-equipped R4D-5 (a Navy ver- to Antarctica before. Last summer was its sion of the DC-3) named “Que Sera Sera.” An aircraft commander at Little America first season on the Ice. A d v e n t u r e With temperatures hovering near minus Five digs the “Que Sera Sera” out from Network International (ANI) used the air- 60 F, Shinn kept the engines running while under a winter’s worth of snow in August, craft for tourist trips on the other side of Adm. George Dufek stepped out of the 1957. The previous summer Gus Shinn the continent. plane and became the first person to stand landed the plane at the South Pole, becom- Leading Edge, a company under AN I , at the Pole since Robert Scott's party, more ing the first person ever to do so. Photo would be operating the BT-67 for the NSF. than four decades earlier. courtesy of Jim Waldron. If the deal happens, it would be a unique For every milestone like this there are relationship. Government programs and people behind the scenes who play a large “It was a magnificent airplane,” private adventure companies are often at part, too. Pilots Eddie Frankiewicz and Frankiewicz said. “It could carry a great odds when it comes to activities on the Ice. Jim Waldron were the rescue crew who load of ice on its wings. And with a great An operation like the USAP would be waited in the wings that day, and they too big barn door for a rudder it made for easy morally obligated to help an adventurer in relied upon the same model. cross-wind landings,” he said. mortal danger, but typically isn’t consulted They landed their R4D “Charlene” on Another pilot, E.D. “Buz” Dryfoose, when expeditions are planned. the Liv Glacier as Shinn and Dufek flew explained the reasons it’s as good as a Still, NSF station representative Dave overhead. “Charlene’s” engines were kept mid-weight aircraft in An t a r c t i c a . Bresnahan says there is a lot of common running for the better part of a day, to be “For open snow landings at the ground between the two operations. ready at a moment’s notice in case the his- reduced weight of the R4Ds, they could “T h e r e ’ s been a lot of cooperation toric flight to Pole needed help. land where there were possible snow between us and ANI,” Bresnahan said. Waldron remembers the aircraft bridges over crevasses that could not be “They keep us informed about what f o n d l y. seen,” Dryfoose said. “The 130s would they’re doing, and (the relationship) may “It was a very reliable airplane. We put not fare as well under those circumstances evolve in the future.” it through a lot of terrible weather and with 100,000 pounds more weight.” But it’s the past that will be brought to cold but it was always stable and had very The R4D proved its worth time and life when the latest reincarnation of the few failures. It was terrific for what it again. On the other side of the Ross Ice DC-3 flies the skies of Antarctica again could do,” he said. Shelf at an encampment called Little this season. ■

Co l d ha r d fa c t s Pounds of cargo planned for South Pole this year (including fuel): 7,258,827 Sheets of paper distributed by Central Supply last summer: 830,000 Pounds of Antarctic Cod expected for Thanksgiving: 180 Pounds of freshies brought in last week: 15,000 Pounds of southbound package mail waiting in Christchurch: 23,750 Pounds per survival bag: single 40, double 60 Number of pagers issued at McMurdo Station (as of Nov. 7): 326

- compiled by Beth Minneci and Jeff Inglis 10 • The Antarctic Sun November 12, 2000

n alphabetical order, here are What’s in a name? some Antarctic geographic fea- Itures named after some members of the U.S. Antarctic Program who will be on the continent this sea- By Jeff Inglis son. Their accomplishments are listed Sun staff in brief. For a complete list and search- able database, visit the U.S. Geological The seventh continent bears the names of heroic Su r v e y ’ s Antarctic names web site at explorers and heavy equipment operators alike ht t p : / / m a p p i n g . u s g s . g o v / w w w / g n i s / When explorers first set eyes on An t a r c t i c a , so n ’ s contribution to Antarctic research or histo- an t f o r m . h t m l . “T erra Incognita” wasn’t just an unknown land, ry , and on the type of geographic feature. it was an unnamed land, too. First-order features are large, such as regions Ainley Peak is named for David Ai n l e y , penguin and skua researcher. They soon took care of that, naming promi- of land, large glaciers, ice shelves and large Al c o r ta Rocks is a nunatak named for nent geographic features after themselves, their mountain ranges. They are named after leaders of Jesse Alcorta, hazardous waste specialist ships and those who gave them financial back- major expeditions, towering figures in An t a r c t i c and cryogenic technician. in g . history and donors to Antarctic research. De V ries Glacier is named for Ar t In 1841 Capt. James Clark Ross named the Second-order features include peninsulas, De V ries, long-time biologist at McMurdo Station. Ross Ice Shelf in his own honor; he named significant mountains, prominent coastal fea- Guthridge Nunataks are named after mounts Erebus and Terror for his ships. Capt. tures and islands. They are named for people Guy Guthridge, director of polar infor- Robert Scott, 60 years later, named Cape who have played significant but lesser roles. mation services for the NSF and chair of Armitage for his second-in-command and Third-order features include nunataks, the Advisory Committee on An t a r c t i c Minna Bluff for the wife of Sir Clements cl i f fs, rocks and anchorages. They are named Na m e s . Joyce Peak is named for Karen Joyce, Markham, one of Scott’s primary sponsors. for people who have supported An t a r c t i c who has worked in computer science But Antarctica is a big place. There are still a en d e a v o r s . support for 10 years. lot of points, bluffs, peaks, glaciers, nunataks Various people in the U.S. An t a r c t i c Kennedy Ridge is a ridge named for and other formations that need labeling. Since Program have been immortalized on the Ice, Nadene Kennedy, NSF’s polar coordina- 1947, the U.S. Board on Geographic Names from top dogs at the National Science tion specialist. Ko t t m e i e rM e s a is named after Steve and its Advisory Committee on An t a r c t i c Foundation to long-term program employees Ko t t m e i e r , who’s been a scientist and Names have handled that task. (see sidebar). NSF director Rita Colwell was administrator with the program since To decide on designations names are first once an Antarctic field researcher; a mountain 19 8 8 . categorized as personal or non-personal. now bears her name. NSF representative Dave Krall Crags is a pair of summits named The latter include commemoration of Bresnahan and his boss Erick Chiang both have for Sarah Krall, who has worked in the events (for instance, Jubilee Peak), ships mountains named for them. program for over 10 years. Kyle Hills is a group of hills on Ross (Glacier Bight), Antarctic-related orga n i z a t i o n s Chuck Gallagher served in the U.S. Naval Island named for Phil Kyle, who has (U S A R P Mountains) and descriptions of fea- Support Force, Antarctica and then worked for studied Mount Erebus for 28 years. tures (Turtle Rock). Antarctic Support Associates before dying at Lettau Peak is named for Bernhard Pe o p l e ’ s names are, of course, also used. McMurdo Station on May 1, 1997. A ri d g e Lettau, ocean and climate sciences pro- They are assigned based on the level of a per- bears his name. ■ continued on next page

1 If you could have any type of Antarctic Highw y geographic feature named after you, what would it be and why?

“The ceremonial pole, because it ’ s bright and shiny and everybody would have their pi c t u r e “It’d have to be a peak, “Ag l a c i e r , because it’s taken standing next to me.” because it’d give me some- “An iceberg, because it floats along so gently.” slow-moving and old.” Susan Sawtelle thing to look forward to Bill Haals South Pole winter-over cl i m b i n g . ” Susan Lee Fi n a n c e Mc M u r do safety coordi n a t o r Peter Bevan operations manager Electrical forem a n November 12, 2000 The Antarctic Sun • 11

Skate from page 5 you wiggle your worm. Both DeVries and Praebel set their lines at 1,600 feet (500 meters) and both use 20 hooks. But where Art employs the standard hook, line and si n k e r , Praebel is the McMurdo pioneer of an innovative device known as the Greenland Glider. A weighted sheet-metal hydrofoil that sails a flat trajectory, the glider does not land on the bottom until it is several hundred yards from the hole. The line lies at an angle, in sharp contrast to DeVri e s ’ tr a d i - tional vertical configuration. Asmall weight is sent down the glider line, which stops at the first hook and sends all twenty hooks to the bottom. Skates are creatures of the benthos. Th e y live on the sea floor, where they bury themselves in the sand when they are not feeding on a variety of invertebrates and small fishes. Their senses of smell, sight, touch and vibration are well-developed. They can also sense electrical and magnetic impulses. Kim Praebel, researcher and fisherman, examines the skate’s mouth. He caught the fish Their reproduction rates are low, making using a special device he calls the “Greenland Glider.” Photo by Teri McLain. them vulnerable to habitat loss and overfish- ing in other parts of the world. cm) long and weighing 25 pounds (11.3 kg). the invertebrates. The male fertilizes the female internally Preliminary examination indicates that he “Their blood is isotonic with the seawa- with its claspers, firm organs with internal may be a member of Bathyraja eatonii, bu t te r ,” DeVries said. This means that their cartilage. Courtship usually includes nib- a complete taxonomic analysis will be con- freezing temperature is the same as the bling and biting and copulation can last ducted by an expert when the skate is water they inhabit and as long as it doesn’t hours or a few minutes. The act may occur returned to the States later this season. freeze, neither will they. in mid-water or on the bottom, and in a vari- There is a small possibility that it is a pre- It may be a long time before there is ety of positions; belly-to-belly or back-to- viously undescribed species. another skate in the aquarium in McMurdo. belly with the claspers twisted. Positive identification is easier with a But then again, there may be more after the The end of the clasper has many tiny collection of specimens, both male and next long line is pulled up. hooks, spines, discs and grooves that grasp female, as well as examples of adults and Praebel is sailing his Greenland Glider the female during mating as well as transfer juveniles. Upon learning this, Praebel said, every day from Fish Hut Three in a mad the semen. Lubricating fluid is produced in “W e’ll just have to catch more.” quest for the fearsome Dissostichus maw - secretory glands at the base of each clasper. Meanwhile, in his McMurdo lab, so n i i and the elusive McMurdo Sound The teeth and body spines also help the male De V ries analyzed a blood sample taken skate. “If they are there,” he said, “we will to maintain its position. Females may mate from the tail of the skate. He did not find any catch them.” ■ with several males in succession. antifreeze glycoproteins. To prevent freez- The skate that Praebel caught is a well- ing in the 28.5 F (-1.9 C) water of the sound, Teri McLain is a self-described science developed male, measuring 3.7 feet (115 the skate employs a mechanism similar to me rc e n a r y. She works with Ar t DeVri e s .

Names from previous page DO YOU LIKE GREEN EGGS AND HAM? gram manager at the Office of Polar Programs. Mount Bres n a h a n is named for Dave Bresnahan, current NSF representative at McMurdo Station. Mount Chiang is a mountain named after Erick Chiang, manager of operations for polar programs. Mount Melton is a peak named for Terry Melton, who has worked as an engineer and manager at Palmer and McMurdo stations since 1981. Palais Glacier is a glacier named after Julie Palais, field researcher in Antarctica and NSF polar glaciology program manager. Palais Bluff also bears her name. Readings, recitations, songs and skits Robbins Hill is named for Rob Robbins, science diving of or inspired by the writings of Dr. Seuss. coordinator and 22-year program veteran. Scanniello Peak is a peak named after Jeff Scanniello, 7 p.m. Dec. 3 at the Coffee House surveyor at McMurdo and South Pole stations. Uberuaga Island gets its name from Jules Uberuaga, To sign up, call Recreation, ext. 2443, long-time equipment operator. or The Antarctic Sun, ext. 2407. 12 • The Antarctic Sun November 12, 2000 Pr o f i l e

Fin thei r e ho l e Mike Dennistoun checks blasting caps, which determine the duration and direction of blasts. By Beth Minneci Photos by Beth Minneci. Sun staff t first glance, explosives blast design and techniques. matters most; it’s the challenge in engineer Mike Dennistoun is “He spent a half-hour on the phone designing the blast. “It’s small explo- Aa quirky character. telling me why I don’t want to be an sives, properly placed, properly timed,’’ His red jacket is as dirty as a coal- en g i n e e r ,” Dennistoun said. he said. mi n e r ’s. His eyes bulge and he crows But instead of deterring him with a Take the ongoing 5 p.m. blasting pro- “woo-hoo” and “wee-hee,” with child- description of dirty, dangerous work, the ject near the sea ice as an example. like excitement when he talks about sc h o o l ’ s head turned him on to a new For several days Mike “The Blaster” blowing up rocks. ca r e e r . Dennistoun and his assistant, “Dynamite” But take another look. “I’d been developing my own explo- Jim Stephenson have been busting up sec- Dennistoun is a self-taught pianist sives all my life. Here was a whole tions of rock to make way for the founda- who played on a lounge circuit and a industry for what I like to do, and they’ll tion of a new sewage treatment plant. beekeeper who hands out honey to rela- pay me $50 an hour to do it…I said, Each blasting day, Dennistoun drives tives on holidays. A former Seattle disc ‘Great, see you at 8 tomorrow.’ ” up a winding road behind McMurdo jo c k e y , he was once the only white guy Station where explosives are stored in at a Motown radio station. white huts. His road to blasting started early. One day last week, Dennistoun tossed When Dennistoun, 43, was a kid, his “I’d been developing my boxes of four- and 1 1/2-pound dynamite parents inadvertently introduced him to own explosives all my life. sticks on the back of his truck, enough to explosives. blast about 100 square feet of rock. “My parents bought me a chemistry Here was a whole industry “That should do it,” he said, rushing to set when I was eight and about two for what I like to do.” the driver’s side of the truck. “Wee - h e e . ” weeks later I blew my windows out,’’ Dennistoun had spent half the day drilling 16 eight-foot holes, spewing dirt Dennistoun said. “My dad said, ‘Oh my - Mike “The Blaster” Dennistoun God we’ve created a monster.’ ” all over his jacket. But a love for radio started diverting on becoming an He and Stephenson dropped dyna- much of his attention from explosives – explosives engineer mite in the holes, and speared the sticks at least for a while. with tube caps that control the direction The same year he exploded his room, and duration of the shock signal. Dennistoun got a kid’s voice part on a The staggering of explosions is a radio show. Later, he spun records at his After a summer as a blaster in kind of choreography, he said. Th e high school and college radio stations. Antarctica in the late 1980s he went blasts are milliseconds apart. After earning a bachelor’s degree in home and blasted quarries for road rock “This is the part that I relish in,’’ he communications at the University of and tunnels for highways. Last year he said, “It’s a bit of design, creativity and Washington, he played assorted music at returned to the Ice. sc i e n c e . ” a number of stations – from jazz to light “T h e r e ’ s something that draws you By pumping once on a T-bar that and alternative rock. back,” he said. resembles something out of a Road All the while, he said, he practiced The areas he blows up here are small- Runner cartoon, the signal jumps from “mischief” with explosives and rocks. er than at home, where he’d use 70,000 hole to hole, igniting the dynamite row At 26, weary of low-paying radio pounds of dynamite to break up a quar- by row, just as planned. jobs, he called the head of the Institute of ry compared to about 80 pounds in a “ Woo-hoo,” Dennistoun said, Explosive Engineers in nearby Issaquah, recent McMurdo project. while he watched the rocks jump in Washington, a school for geology and But it’s not the size of the boom that the air. ■